Prestige Grinding : I Can Reset My Level

Sora frowned at Alius' words. "You mean he'll need [Soul Pearls] as well?"

Alius nodded. "Yes. I don't know how much [Soul Power] is required, but the five I gave him felt like a drop in an ocean compared to the contract's barrier. I think that below a Soul Level of a thousand, it's useless to even attempt breaking the contract."

Sora noticed Sarsha's curious gaze and quickly surrounded Alius and Karim with a veil to hide their conversation. He then asked, "Can't you gift us a few pearls? It's for science, after all!"

Alius smiled faintly. "I'm already supplying you and Kara. And you know my speed in refining [Soul Pearls] isn't affected by this space. Helping the forty-something teenagers will take a while. Let's not rush this."

Sora studied Alius' expression and guessed, "You have an idea… Stop with the suspense and tell me."

Alius appeared annoyed at being exposed and sent a message through telepathy: 'The only way to get [Soul Power] quickly in this space is by using your [Soulcraft] skill. I barely saw you use it, but I know how powerful it is. That skill seems very difficult to replicate, but I think we can create an alternate version of [Soulcraft] and teach it to these guys. We can request part of the [Soul Pearls] they create in exchange for their freedom. You can teach me that skill, and we can teach them a version they can learn. What do you think?'

Sora's smile disappeared as he grew serious, considering Alius' plan. 'That's not a bad idea… If what the three of us discussed in the past is true, hoarding [Soul Pearls] might prove worth it in the long run, even after the update. But how will you convince them?'

Alius shook his head and replied telepathically, 'You probably know this after you browsed through their memories. Control over [Soul Power] is incredibly rare. Giving these kids the ability to train it is already an extremely generous gift. We can give it for free to Karim since he'll help us with our experiments, but the next in line can't have everything for free, can they?'

Sora considered his friend's words and added, 'If they don't want to give us a share of their harvest, I can always wipe their memories of us and release them. They'll profit, but we won't have to waste our [Soul Pearls] to free them.'

Alius nodded in agreement. 'Exactly. We don't have to invest too much in these guys. Let's just develop a new skill, teach it to them, and leave it to them to free themselves.'

With their plan decided, Sora and Alius spent the following weeks developing a skill based on [Soulcraft].

[Soulcraft] was an extremely advanced and intricate skill, so they had to break it down into three simpler skills with lower learning thresholds. The new skills focused on gradually building an understanding of [Soul Power], refining it, and guiding it effectively.

When their work was complete, they met with Karim again.

Alius started by asking, "When that demon invested in you, did she give you [Soul Power]? Does she own part of your Soul Level?"

Karim's conflicted expression gave away his answer. Sora immediately understood. 'He's not allowed to reveal anything.' Discover exclusive tales at My Virtual Library Empire

Sora answered in Karim's place, "No, she didn't. He hadn't unlocked the [Soul Level] stat before meeting us."

Ignoring Karim's confusion at this revelation, Alius nodded, recalling that Sora had browsed the memories of all the players they had captured.

"We've prepared three skills for you: [Soul: Absorb], [Soul: Cleanse], and [Soul: Refine]. Once you master all three, you'll be able to develop your Soul Level. I hope you like challenges because it'll take time before you're strong enough to escape Hannah's grip," Alius said, his tone playful.

Sora added, "Any growth in the aspects of power where she's invested in you is unnecessary. Don't gain experience, don't train your body, don't improve your skills, and don't strengthen your mind. Any progress you make will benefit her once she takes back her investment. Focus solely on the skills we're teaching you."

Karim stared at them, speechless. Finally, he said, "You really found a way to free me? And I can do it on my own?"

Alius, clearly lacking Sora's patience, slapped the young man's forehead. "Calm down and focus. Let's get to work." Without waiting, he began teaching Karim the skills they had developed.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

---------------------------------

Meanwhile, Sarsha, who had been watching the group enter and leave a strange dome for weeks, was growing frustrated. Tired of being ignored, she stormed toward Kara to complain.

"Kara, those boys are hiding with that human prisoner again! Why won't you tell me what they're doing? It's driving me crazy. Are they torturing him?" she said, crossing her arms.

Kara, floating a few inches above the ground with her eyes closed and a sword in hand. Behind her floated an enormous ethereal figure clad in a robe, holding a sword.

Sensing her new 'friend,' Kara canceled her skill and landed softly.

"Sarsha, I told you not to come close when I'm training. It's too dangerous, and Karim isn't a prisoner, he's more of a ... patient?" she reminded her, a gentle smile on her face.

"You're training non-stop, Kara. If I don't interrupt you, we'll never talk! The guys are too boring, and I can't stay holed up in my hut for months like you! Tell me, what are those clowns doing?" Sarsha demanded, clearly frustrated by Sora's habit of using veils to conceal his discussions.

Kara sighed, shaking her head. "I've told you already. If they want to hide something from you, don't count on me to spill their secrets. If you want to know more about us, you'll need to sign another [Soul Contract] to ensure our secrets stay safe."

"Contracts, contracts, contracts. That's all you ever talk about! Just trust me! I'll keep my mouth shut, don't worry," Sarsha said with a smile, trying to appear innocent.

Kara laughed softly, amused by Sarsha's childish demeanor, so different from the person they had anticipated when they revived her.

"Then give us more time," she said, her tone lighter.

---------------------------------

After a few days of hard work, Karim finally managed to create his first [Soul Pearl].

Sora, recalling knowledge from the memories of players from [GODS], knew that refining a [Soul Pearl] was an outstanding achievement. However, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment.

Noticing Alius shaking his head as well, Sora remarked, "It's too slow."

Alius replied, "This skill is interesting. The more Soul Power you have, the more you can refine. But Karim's starting point is too low. It'll take forever for him to refine enough [Soul Pearls] to free himself."

Sora nodded thoughtfully. "I used to refine a hundred pearls a day inside the tower. That place was special since it had an overwhelming amount of Soul Power in the air. But now, even here, where the only source of Soul Power is the monsters we kill, I can easily refine a thousand [Soul Pearls]."

Alius connected the dots and added, "With your absurd talent level, you can refine approximately ten percent of your maximum Soul Level every day. It's incredible. Ever since you taught me [Soulcraft], I can refine between three and four thousand [Soul Pearls] a day, but I'm limited by the scarcity of Soul Power in this space. I feel like I can refine around seven or eight thousands outside of this space, but that'll need testing in the future. Maybe we could give Karim more [Soul Pearls] to accelerate his growth? He can always reimburse us later."

Sora liked Alius' idea and approached Karim, who had just absorbed his first hard-earned [Soul Pearl].

After discussing his refining speed, Karim understood the problem and accepted their proposal.

Sora handed the young man a thousand [Soul Pearls], while Alius added another thousand.@@novelbin@@

"I'm not an ingrate. I'll pay back everything you've given me, with interest. Count on me," Karim said, his voice full of emotion as he promised the two men in front of him who did not ask for anything yet...

Looking at the odd duo, Karim couldn't explain why he felt such trust toward them. The feeling he got from them was the exact opposite of what he felt from Hannah.

---------------------------------

From that day forward, Karim managed to produce a dozen [Soul Pearls] daily, steadily increasing his Soul Level.

Meanwhile, Sora turned his focus toward an aspect of power he had neglected for a long time. Inspired by pushing his [Speed Surge] to a new level, he decided to train his other buffing skills. The first skill he wanted to evolve was [Amplify].

He had stopped using the skill a long time ago, labeling it useless. Ever since reaching the limit in his energy level on the tower's tenth floor, the skill's effects had no longer applied to him.

'A skill having no effect doesn't mean it stops growing. I need to evolve all my skills beyond the perfect level and make them shine again,' he thought, recalling his recent experience with [Speed] and Kara's swordsmanship.

After a dedicated period of training, the skill he had focused on the most finally evolved.

Sora tested the newly evolved skill, feeling the effects of something he hadn't used in years.

'It's such a simple yet powerful skill. Is this the way forward now that we've hit the limits?' Sora smiled, turning his gaze toward Kara, his eyes filled with gratitude for her presence and help.